January Recap

(LONG POST WITH RECIPE AT THE END)
When I was looking for something else I found this quote I wrote down a few years ago:
My life cannot implement in action the demands of all the people to whom my heart responds."
-Anne Morrow Lindberg
I love it! I keep thinking that life seems so busy and maybe it will 'get back to normal' at some point. I'm coming to the conclusion that 'normal' changes and is relative to the different events and stages in life... sooooo...it's been a 'normal' past few weeks for us and I want to take a few minutes to update.
Caylin has been practicing her cooking skills. She's a great little chef. She's got the rolls and breadsticks down, along with homemade brownies, peanut butter cookies, puffy pancakes...she's also been helping her dad in his office (otherwise known as the former den!) Jeff told me that when I help him I get stressed out and that stresses him out so I've been released and he hired Caylin!
Megan has been enjoying basketball. She played once in 4th grade and thought she'd give it a go again (to stay in shape for the main event - track!!!!). She's on the B team with her good friends, Becca and Hannah and she has an awesome coach Mr. Sanderson. At the beginning of practice the other day the coach told the group they were going to learn how to rebound and he called her up front and said, " You are such a sweet girl. Here's a truffle for you." And to the other girls he said, "Megan just spreads her sweetness around, so here's a truffle for all of you. Then to Megan, "Now that's the last sweetness I want to see for the rest of practice, get out there and get aggressive!" What a great girls' coach!
Kyle went snowboarding for the first time last week and loved it. I figured he would because he's pretty athletic. He came home completely wiped out and just a little bruised up! He's been helping Jeff too, especially getting ready for this homeshow. He's also winding down some senior projects...I don't know about him, but I will be glad for Career Ed and Senior project to be finished and passed! One more term, hooray.
Ryan is keeping busy and still loving his mission. I've been helping him work on getting his BYU application for fall term completed. I can't believe he will be coming home in just over 6 months. (I'll have to update a missionary post also!)
Jeff is busy, busy, busy. We help him with what we can...we've taken him off the chore list and we try to make sure he eats regularly! Jeff's dad andKyle have been helping him with some work projects and he is so greatful for the wonderful counselors he has for church work.
Marie - I'm excited that I get to go to camp this summer with my 2 girls! I was asked to be the camp cook. I'm looking forward to working with great people and learning new things.
On the subject of cooking, I thought I'd share a recipe that I love! I've been asked several times recently for this recipe:

White Bean Chicken Chili

In a 4 quart pot bring the following ingredients to a boil and then reduce to simmer:
2 ½ quarts water
1 ½ c dry white beans
2 chicken breasts
1-2 T chicken base (I use the McCormick from Costco,
or you could just use 3-4 bouillon cubes)
Cook until beans are tender. Break Chicken into pieces.
Add:
1-2 cloves garlic (pressed or minced)
1-2 t ground cumin
pinch of Chipotle rub (from Pampered Chef )
1-2 t taco seasoning
pinch of Smoked Paprika
juice of ½ a lime
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
Chop the following and add to mixture:
½ white onion
1 green bell pepper
1 Anaheim or pasilla chili pepper (without seeds)
Continue to simmer for another 10-15 minutes; add salt to taste
Makes about 3 quarts. Using these proportions each 1 cup serving is 125 calories and ¼ gram of fat .
Serving suggestions: We like it with a few stone ground tortilla chips crunched on top and a little light sour cream, you can also garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.
Can use more or less of chili pepper or hotter variety, or can use Cheyenne pepper to add to heat if you don’t have chipotle rub, and can use a little liquid smoke if you don’t have smoked paprika.
Enjoy!
Well, January has one week left, I'm off to cram a little more into it!